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Quiet book adventures..

[Intro by Al] So do you remember our dear friend Celina (table refinish, valentine inspire designer)? She's amazing, wonderful, and I'm pretty sure was one of those people that was definitely my best friend in the pre-existence. Almost from the moment I met her I felt an instant bond of sisterhood. Beyond all that, she is incredibly talented. She was the genius that morphed Scary and my vision to create our incredible logo a few months ago (on the first try, she definitely did some designing between the lines). She has been working on a quiet book for her son for months and I knew we must share with you it since she hasn't quite caught the blogging bug yet to have it reach you.

Quiet in the Country {Quiet Book}

Some friends of mine came over recently to visit. I remember they, as my son was bashfully flirting with them and, admittedly, being a little quiet, asked: “does he say anything?” (Obviously we don’t spend too much time together, because) in my head and, consequently, out loud, I laughed. MY kid? Say anything? He’s a 13 month-old chatterbox! His vocabulary may be limited; but boy, does he use what he’s got!

Any lucky exerciser who happens to share the morning track with us would know. His most choice word is “hi”, and every walker/jogger we pass is greeted shamelessly, and often more than once, or twice. “HI! Hi! hi. hi. hi..” and so it goes til we either happen upon another poor sweating soul, or gain too much headway from the last.
Longer story made short: my kid makes his fair share of noise in the world.
…especially on Sunday. In our weekend worship services we do a good amount of singing, and the boy isn’t afraid to join in. Notes or no, he’ll sing his little heart out. Even after the song is long over. So laughing, and with good motivation, I decided it may be time for a “quiet book”. We’ll see if it holds up to it’s title.

I’m an avid Pinterester, and with a determination for a packable and lasting distraction for the little, the boards were near first in my search for inspiration.
JACKPOT!
Who knew there were entire blogs dedicated just to quiet books? Pinned em!

After quite a bit of perusing, exploring, and freshly armed with plenty of ideas, I set out on my creative journey. I decided I wanted to try and carry some sort of theme throughout the book, because it seems far too many quiet book pages are a little scattered and eclectic. To each his own (and the littles probably don’t care a bit one way or the other!), but this one’s own is way too OCD (or whatever other blessed definition there might be for ME) for so much crazy if I get to design it myself! ..So my chosen theme: “Quiet in the Country”. It might make a nice titled cover, if I ever get around to it, but for now we’re going to jump right into the thick of it, since that’s really all I’ve got to show for myself:

In the country there are farms. On farms, barns. In barns, animals. And farm-barn-animals, it would seem, are so very entertaining for a 1 year-old. So we had to have animals. And, hey! They fit on your finger. Fun.

Pretty close to the farm, and barn, and usually taking care of the animals there are cowboys. But contrary to popular belief, cowboys do wear clothes other than a hat and a pair of boots (though they may be a staple for most outfits). We’ve got a little cowboy and his wardrobe to prove it.

Boys love trucks, and mine is no exception. So of course we had to fit in our little cowboy’s favorite ride! His tractor doesn't do many of the loud and exciting things that the real does, but it’s sure got a nice pair of spinning wheels! And for 13 months, that’s still pretty cool.

Country folk need food too! So we planted some carrots and it would seem they’re ready for harvesting. Kid loves to uproot those suckers.

Some country food is better for playing with. Potatoes, for instance already come with eyes, why not make a whole face? And heck, why not one we all recognize? (and even a feminine counterpart, if you’re feeling it..)

Another country delight is fresh produce! Right from the tree. We even brought a basket to collect em in, it should be a snap (ha! See what I did there..? ;))

“A penny saved is a penny earned”, or in this case the kid will get reeeeal good at saving/earning his juice can tops! Anyone out there giving real money to their babies? Yeah, I’ve had better ideas. Pretty sure a penny given to my little guy is a penny lost or taking a trip to the hospital. Pass!

Shout-out to all the advanced seamstresses/seamstremisters that might happen upon my humble little venture: I’m very much a beginner, so hopefully you were able to enjoy the outcome beyond all the obvious “I-would-have-done-it-this-way”s. It was a fun project, and like many things I find with motherhood, I’m figuring things out as I go. But, hey, life as an experiment is always a little more exciting!

22 comments:

What a neat book, and special keepsake! Hope it works its magic in church!! We've discussed and discussed and discussed making a 'quiet book' for our nieces....but haven't blocked off the chunk of time required to make it happen. Your time/work definitely paid off in this creation!!

This is amazing!! I made a quiet book for my daughter a few years back when I began sewing & it was eh. This is INSANE cool & I am pinning it RIGHT NOW so I can try my hand at it again for my son. My favorite is how the piggy bank is set up& also how you can pull the carrots out but can't lose them.

You did such and AMAZING job with this book! Was everything sewn or did you hot glue some things also? I've had quiet books on my list for quite some time now I have just never found that time yet :-) You inspire me to get started!

I love your barn and piggy bank pages! I have a question about the piggy bank. How have the "coins" worked in quiet places like church? Do they clink too loudly or roll away, or are they fine? I am copying your idea if it worked well.

In answer to the coin question: when I'm taking the book to church, I usually only leave one or two "coins" in the bank because they DO have the potential to get rowdy ;) but with just one(and even just 2) the sound is pretty minimal and my kid enjoys taking it out and putting it back in just as much. That's actually his favorite page!-Celina

What a fun book! & you did an amazing job. I found you on Pinterest, as I am about to attempt making one for my 2 yr. old grandson... Can you tell me what you used for the coins in the piggy bank? (LOVE that : ) & what did you use to make the wheels spin on the tractor?? Really well, done!! Thanks K.

Buy some of the sweet rolls in a tube that pop open. On the inside you will find a small icing container. This is the perfect coin, smaller and flatter than juice cans. I would have tossed the rolls but hubby doesn't have discerning taste so he cooked and ate them.

The coins are captured inside the pencil case that backs the piggy page. Cut the solid fabric off, it is plasticky and can be used to make the piggy by machine appliqueing it on and making a giant buttonhole. Then sew the rest of the pencil case on the back of that page. Child has to unzip the pencil case to get the coin. This is the favorite page of my grands. I have discovered that the icing cans that are inside those sticky buns that you pop out of a tube are smaller and flatter than juice tube lids.

My grands favorite page is the piggy bank. I bought the pencil holder and cut the solid side off. Then used that plasticky fabric to make the pig which I machine appliqued on. If you buy the rolls in the tube that pops open and has frosting, the frosting cover on the inside is a little smaller than juice can lids. Dear hubby liked the nasty rolls. He does not have discerning taste.

Such great ideas! I pinned this a while ago and am just now making my grandson's book. Thank you for sharing your awesome ideas. I was also wondering how to make the wheels and didn't see any replies. So, I thought about the old "paper fasteners" in brass...the type where you place the head through a hole and fold the 'legs' back to secure it. Place one in the center of the wheel, flatten the fastener & let it spin!

The Sisters

We are three sisters, who stay busy feeding, dressing and loving our families. Great women have taught us the domestic arts and we try to live and share that tradition with others, and ever improve upon it. As we navigate through life's adventures our relationship with each other gives us strength through struggles big and small. click here →